This morning, as I was getting ready to take Jeff to school, I overheard him talking to Abby to keep her happy. But it wasn’t long before I realized he wasn’t talking to her at all- he was reading to her- and perfectly, from “Trucks”, a board book by Byron Barton.

This is one of the very first books we ever read to him, and to hear him reading it- carefully sounding out the words to his baby sister- was sublime. Leaning against the doorjamb, out of sight so as not to interrupt, I listened to his melodious, small voice read, and experienced near tear-inducing mama-happiness.